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Thunderbird Club

#22,381
tastelikedirt said:
I've successfully nipped the flange off (think bench grinder) and reset the Epiphone ones back so they are flush.

Excellent, I think I could pull that off, at a friends...I was hoping that I could easily (and quickly) order some drop in replacements online. I assume they would have a nicer finish than what I would end up with after grinding them away...although I will happily do that If it takes too long to get these things in the mail.

These are the ones I ordered, and they appear to be flange-less. Link Removed
GM-STS-C.jpg


These appear to be knurled and not threaded. ANybody know if the Epiphone ones, installed now are the same. Should they just pull straight out? What is the best way to do this?

Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Not sure but should be correct size.

I laid a towel down on the finish, a block on that, and applied some leverage on the screw head with a flat screw driver

You can also drop a few BBs in the hole and tighten the screw, thus pressing the sleeve up
 
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#22,382
tastelikedirt said:
I've successfully nipped the flange off (think bench grinder) and reset the Epiphone ones back so they are flush.

Excellent, I think I could pull that off, at a friends...I was hoping that I could easily (and quickly) order some drop in replacements online. I assume they would have a nicer finish than what I would end up with after grinding them away...although I will happily do that If it takes too long to get these things in the mail.

These are the ones I ordered, and they appear to be flange-less. Link Removed
GM-STS-C.jpg


These appear to be knurled and not threaded. ANybody know if the Epiphone ones, installed now are the same. Should they just pull straight out? What is the best way to do this?

Thanks again.
Click to expand...
I like these and I need the 3 set, problem is, I don't see the smaller front stud/bushing anywhere. Some dude has a set on eBay for $40...Yeah right
 
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#22,383
I like these and I need the 3 set, problem is, I don't see the smaller front stud/bushing anywhere.

Yes, I know what you mean. I thought I had the same problem, but it looks like only the head is smaller on the center post but the actual threaded part is the same as the rear/side post. The Babicz bridge came with three new bolts (mounting studs) and also with those one had a smaller head but the threaded parts look the same size on all three bolts (mounting studs).

edit - I just tried the different bolts (mounting studs) that came with the Babicz bridge. The small headed one fits in the rear/side and the larger headed bolts (mounting studs) also fit in the center position. They (the threaded part) are all the same size. The Babicz website says these are "M8" size metric mounting studs.
 
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#22,384
tastelikedirt said:
I like these and I need the 3 set, problem is, I don't see the smaller front stud/bushing anywhere.

Yes, I know what you mean. I had the same problem, but it looks like only the head is smaller on the center post but the actual threaded part is the same as the rear/side post. The Babicz bridge came with three new bolts and also with those one had a smaller head but the threaded parts look the same size on all three bolts.
Click to expand...
Good to know!
 
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#22,385
Bent77 said:
Not sure but should be correct size.

I laid a towel down on the finish, a block on that, and applied some leverage on the screw head with a flat screw driver

You can also drop a few BBs in the hole and tighten the screw, thus pressing the sleeve up
Click to expand...

I have removed them the same way, minus the BBs. I screwed in one of the bolts, laid down a thick cloth, put a small wood block down, and used a claw hammer to slowly pry the insert out of the body. No wood damage occurred during the removal process.
 
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#22,387
So are these flanges stopping me getting the action any lower than it currently is?

Not if you have the stock three point bridge.

I guess theoretically the front/middle bushing is keeping the stock three point bridge from going as low as possible, but you don't want that one lower than the rear anyway, because that could help to contribute to the rear bushings being pulled out of the body. From the tension/pull of the strings.
 
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#22,388
tastelikedirt said:
So are these flanges stopping me getting the action any lower than it currently is?

Not if you have the stock three point bridge.

I guess theoretically the front/middle bushing is keeping the stock three point bridge from going as low as possible, but you don't want that one lower than the rear anyway, because that could help to contribute to the rear bushings being pulled out of the body. From the tension/pull of the strings.
Click to expand...
Love the avatar by the way. Would love to get my hands on that Birch Custom...
 
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#22,391
tastelikedirt said:
So are these flanges stopping me getting the action any lower than it currently is?

Not if you have the stock three point bridge.

I guess theoretically the front/middle bushing is keeping the stock three point bridge from going as low as possible, but you don't want that one lower than the rear anyway, because that could help to contribute to the rear bushings being pulled out of the body. From the tension/pull of the strings.
Click to expand...
Stock Epiphone 3point in black
 
#22,392
So are these flanges stopping me getting the action any lower than it currently is?

Because off the way the three point stock bridge is designed, No, the flanges do not stop you from getting the action lower. The body of the bridge bottoms out before the area around the mounting studs meet the flanges.

Maybe a truss rod adjustment will help with getting the action lower. Mine is pretty low and I see other here post that they can get the action pretty low on their Thunderbirds.
 
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#22,395
RedVee said:
So are these flanges stopping me getting the action any lower than it currently is?
I don't necessarily want super low, but a bit lower would be nice!
Click to expand...
I'm not so sure the flanges would ever come into play on a low setting. Mine doesn't have flanges but here's a side shot of the bridge that shows about 3 exposed threads ...
image.jpg1_zpsjss4lrr4.jpg

...and I have my action set incredibly low. I can pin a dime in place on the 12 fret under the "E" string while the bass in in the playing position...
image.jpg4_zps6vti53xq.jpg
 
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#22,397
After watching the curmudgeonly Canadian luthier setting up the Epi PRO in the youtube I posted, been wondering about learning how to do a proper setup. Where does one find those probes he was using for checking string/fret gaps?
 
#22,398
kat888 said:
After watching the curmudgeonly Canadian luthier setting up the Epi PRO in the youtube I posted, been wondering about learning how to do a proper setup. Where does one find those probes he was using for checking string/fret gaps?
Click to expand...
One place to look is an auto parts store, they would call them a spark plug gap gauge set or possibly feeler gauges.
 
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#22,400
tastelikedirt said:
I like these and I need the 3 set, problem is, I don't see the smaller front stud/bushing anywhere.

Yes, I know what you mean. I thought I had the same problem, but it looks like only the head is smaller on the center post but the actual threaded part is the same as the rear/side post. The Babicz bridge came with three new bolts (mounting studs) and also with those one had a smaller head but the threaded parts look the same size on all three bolts (mounting studs).

edit - I just tried the different bolts (mounting studs) that came with the Babicz bridge. The small headed one fits in the rear/side and the larger headed bolts (mounting studs) also fit in the center position. They (the threaded part) are all the same size. The Babicz website says these are "M8" size metric mounting studs.
Click to expand...

Be aware the Epiphone (and probably other Asian imports) use metric M8 threaded studs, but Gibson uses imperial sized studs - That's why Hipshot have both sizes included with their Supertone bridge.
 
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